# Make your event invitation-only | Ticket Fairy Guides

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2. [Guides](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides)
3. Make your event invitation-only

Setting up an event

# Make your event invitation-only

Compare a shared password, personal invitations and a ticket access code for private access, or review each order after checkout before tickets are issued.

For:  Choosing private access or deciding which ticket orders you accept

Takes:  5 minutes

- [Use a password when one shared secret is enough](#step-1)
- [Send personal invitations when you have an approved list](#step-2)
- [Use an access code when the event page can stay visible](#step-3)
- [Review each order when admission depends on your decision](#step-4)
- [Test the route you choose before you share it](#step-5)

## What you need before you start

- You can edit the event and its ticket types.
- You know whether private access should depend on one shared secret, a named list or a code, or whether you want to decide after checkout.

1. ## Use a password when one shared secret is enough

   A password puts the whole event page behind one entry field. It suits a private sale where you trust everyone who receives the password, and it lets you give different groups different passwords without creating a guest list first.

   A password controls access to the page. It does not prove which person typed it, so anyone who receives it can pass it on.
          ![Ticket Fairy event settings with Password required to view event enabled and two existing passwords](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-event-settings--password-protection.png)    Event Settings, Password required to view event.
2. ## Send personal invitations when you have an approved list

   The invitation-required setting gives each person a personal link. You can draft the email, add people one at a time or import a CSV, and set separate ticket and transaction limits for each recipient.

   The link is the key. Send it to the intended person and treat a forwarded link as shared access within that invitation's limits. A valid referral link can remain an exception when your event already allows referral visits to buy without a personal invitation.
          ![Ticket Fairy Event Settings with Invitation required to attend enabled](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-event-settings--invitation-required.png)    Event Settings, Invitation required to attend.
3. ## Use an access code when the event page can stay visible

   Keep the event page public, hide every ticket type, then attach those tickets to a promotion with **No Discount**. The code reveals the tickets without changing their prices.

   An access code is shared access, like a password, but it protects the tickets rather than the event page. People can still read the event details before they enter it.
         ![Ticket Fairy promotion editor with a Guest List access code, No Discount and two hidden ticket types attached](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-promotions--hidden-ticket-access-code.png)    Marketing, Promotions, Edit Promotion.
4. ## Review each order when admission depends on your decision

   Order approval lets someone place an order before you accept or decline it. Use it across the event or only on selected ticket types when you need to check each request after checkout.

   Order approval is not an invitation-only gate. It lets anyone who can reach the ticket place a request, then puts the whole order into a pending state until you decide.
          ![Ticket Fairy Ticket Settings with Require order approval and Hold payment until approved enabled](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-tickets--event-order-approval.png)    Tickets, Settings, Ticket Settings.
5. ## Test the route you choose before you share it

   Open the event in a private browser window and complete the same path you will send out. Test once without the password, invitation or code, then test again with it. For invitations, try to add a visible ticket without the invitation and confirm the purchase is refused; the ticket choices may still be visible. For approval, place your own order and check that it waits for your decision.

## Or have it done for you

Fai, the assistant inside your dashboard, can compare the four approaches, check how your event is currently configured and set up the option you choose. She explains who gets access and when, then asks you to approve each change separately. You can also make every change in the dashboard.

### In your dashboard, with Fai

Find my event by name. Ask me whether access should use shared passwords, personal invitations, a shared access code, or a decision after checkout. Recommend the best fit from my answer, explain who can get through and when access is decided, then show me every setting, ticket, promotion or invitation message you would change and ask me to approve each change separately

## Questions you might have

Which option gives each person their own access?:  Use invitation-required access. Each recipient gets a personal link and their own **Max Tickets** and **Max Transactions** limits. A password or access code can be used by anyone who knows it.

Which option keeps my event page public?:  Use hidden ticket types with a no-discount access code. The event details remain visible, while the tickets appear only after the code is entered.

Is order approval the same as an invitation-only event?:  No. Invitation-required access checks for a personal invitation when someone adds a ticket, apart from any valid referral-link access your event already allows. Order approval accepts a request from anyone who can reach the ticket and gives you the decision after checkout.

Can I combine two private-access methods?:  Yes. You can protect the page with a password and also require personal invitations, or use invitations to reveal selected hidden tickets. Every extra gate adds another action for the buyer, so test the complete path before sending it.

How do I stop access after I have shared it?:  Remove or replace a password, cancel a personal invitation, or delete the promotion that owns an access code. Order approval ends when you approve or decline that order.

## Where to go from here

- [What else you can do with Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/features)
- [Password-protect your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/password-protect-your-event)
- [Require an invitation before someone can buy tickets](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/require-an-invitation-to-buy)
- [Unlock hidden tickets with an access code](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/unlock-hidden-tickets-with-an-access-code)
- [Approve orders before buyers receive tickets](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/approve-orders-before-buyers-receive-tickets)
- [Schedule when your event goes live](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/schedule-when-your-event-goes-live)
- [Share an event setup as a reusable template](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/share-your-event-as-a-template)
- [Set up ticketing for a multi-day festival](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-a-multi-day-festival)
- [Sell parking, camping and merchandise with your tickets](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-add-ons-with-your-tickets)
- [Group ticket types under headings buyers understand](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/group-your-tickets-into-categories)
- [Issue reusable event passes to crew and artists](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/issue-entry-passes-to-your-crew)
- [Every Ticket Fairy guide](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides)

## Do this on your own event

Create your account, build your event and follow the steps in your own dashboard. You do not need to book a sales call.

  [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo)

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This page is on Ticket Fairy, a ticketing, marketing and operations platform for live events and the venues that host them: festivals, club nights, concerts, conferences and tours, and night clubs, beach clubs and concert venues. It grows revenue with fan rewards that turn an audience into a sales channel, and runs the money side with payments and payouts, Vault business banking, and working capital advanced against ticket sales. [How Ticket Fairy ticketing works](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing) · [Ticket Fairy for AI assistants](https://www.ticketfairy.com/llms.txt)